Fitting for wire structures



May 3, 1949. A. E. BRICKMAN 2,469,257

FITTING FOR WIRE STRUCTURES Original Filed Nov, 13, 1944 3 Sheets-Sheet l PIE. 1.

' 1220822501? /7/m7 E. fir/c/rman A. E. BRlCKMAN FITTING FOR WIRE STRUCTURES May 3, 1949.

Original Filed Nov. 13, 1944 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 May 3, 1949. A. E. BRICKMAN FITTING FOR WIRE STRUCTURES :5 Sheets-Sheet 3 Original Filed Nov... 13, 1944 w FIE-12. w

Patented May 3, 1949 FITTING FOR WIRE STIRUGTURES Alan E. Briokman, Worcester, Mass, assignor to The American Steel and Wire Company of New Jersey, acorporation of New Jersey Original application November 13, 1944,, Serial No.

563,286.. Divided, and this application November 1, 1945, SerialNo. 626,047

3 Claims. 1

This application is a division of my application Serial No. 563,286, filed November 13, 1944-, now Patent No. 2,464,432, and entitled Method of securing-fittings to wire structures.

It is broadly old in the prior art to secure wires and cables to fittings by either swag-lug or drawing operations, but there are inherent shortcomings in prior practice which the present invention efiTectively' overcomes. Heretofore thewires or cables to be secured to a fitting-have usually been inserted into apertures extending lengthwise of the fitting and the wire Or cable structures have made too loose a fit with the apertures to permit quick and easy ultimate integration of the fitting withthe wire or cable elements. This has resulted in the slowing up of production methods.

The chief object of the invention is to provide a fitting for wire or rope-like structures applicable to various uses which can be economically produced-and quickly assembled on various wire or rope or cable structures.

Another object is to provide an improved means for initially securing a fitting to a wire or ropelike structure to hold the parts in proper position to receive further integrating operations;

A further object of the invention is to provide a fitting having prescribed surface areas adapted to be distorted by a cold forming operation.

A further object of the invention is to provide a pressure-applied fitting conforming to the gen-- eral contour of two approximately parallel wire structures so as to eliminate surface obstructions.

The aboveand further objects are made available by the improvedfeatures of construction and arrangement herein shown, described and claimed.

For a more complete understanding of'the invention, reference should be made to the following detailed disclosure. the accompanying drawings, and the appended claims.

In the drawings:

Figure I is a View of a wire netting whose component strands are adapted to be secured by the improved fitting herein claimed.

Figure 2 is a view showing the initial step in the formation of the netting of Figure 1.

Figure 3 is an enlarged View illustrating a lit ting of the present invention secured permanently to a juxtaposed pair of rope elements.

Figure 4 is an end view of Figure 3.

Figure 5 is a view similar to Figure 3, showing an alternative adaptation of the invention.

Figure 6 is an enlarged plan view showing one of the initial steps in the method of securing a fitting to a pair of juxtaposed wire elements.

Figure '7 is an enlarged plan view of a fitting embodying the invention with a portion broken away and shown in section in the interest of clearness.

Figure 8" is an end view of" Figure 7.

Figure 9 is a section on line IX-IX' of Figure 6, illustrating a. step in the method of securing the fitting of Figure T to a pair of juxtaposed rope or wire elements.

Figure 10' is a detail View of one form of locking pin: utilized in carrying out the herein claimed invention.

Figure 11 is a fragmentary plan view ofa pair of (reacting grooved forming roll segments illustrating an intermediate stage wherein the fitting is. cold formed to integrate it witha pair of'substantially parallel rope or wire structures.

Figure l2'i's an end view of Figure 11.

Accordingto the invention here-in claimed, juxtaposed pairs of wire or rope-like structures arranged in substantially parallel relation are adapted to be quickly yet effectively and permanently integrated with a fitting adapted to hold such rope orwire structures in the desired spaced relation to one another.

In Figure 1 theinvention is illustrated as applied to a wire netting, the elementalstrands Hi and f2 of which are secured to one another at many points by myim-proved fitting which is indicated as a whole at I 4. In this: adaptation of the invention, the elemental strands ID and i2 are initially placed in substantially parallel positions as shown in Figure 2, and the fittings M are applied to separate pairs of strands ill-and l2 at uni- Iormly spaced locations, for example, at the dif ferent elevations shown in Figure 2. Thereafter the fabric is subjected to tension and expanded laterally to the position of Figure 1.

In the application of the invention illustrated in Figure 3; a pair of rope elements [0A and [2A are integrated with: one another by means of'the fitting H. Thus Figure 3 may be considered as illustrating an intermediate step in the formathan of the Wire fabric of Figure I.

Figure 5 illustrates the fitting M as secured adjacent to aneye member [6 of conventional form around which the loop to is bent, the portions marked lUOand l'fiD of the rope or wire structure being secured to the fitting M in much the same manner as are the-parts l0; IDA and HA above referred to. In all adaptations of the invention referred to, the fittings M are preferably ap plied by the method now to be described. This involves starting with a fitting H; such as shown in Figure 7, havingsubstantially parallel opera tures and 22 extending longitudinally therethrough which are separated by a median wall portion 24. Midway between the ends of the fittings l4 and disposed substantially perpendicular to the axes of the apertures 20 and 22 is a transverse passageway 26 which in the embodiment of the invention illustrated is a circular hole whose diameter is slightly greater than the transverse thickness of the wall 24. Under the improved method of securing a juxtaposed pair of wire or rope-like elements to the fitting, I make sure that the diameters of the apertures 20 and 22 are of such a size that the juxtaposed rope or wire-like elements can be freely entered therein. This facilitates ease and speed of the assembly and fabrication, but presents the problem of properly holding or positioning the fitting at desired locations on the wire or cable elements during handling or during further processing necessary to integrate the fittings with the wire or cable elements. I therefore provide for temporarily securing the relatively loose fitting wire or cable elements in the apertures 29 and 22 by driving through the passageway 26 a locking pin 30 having a tapered end 32. The diameter of this locking pin is designedly intended to be materially smaller than the diameter of the passageway 26,

but greater than the transverse thickness of the wall 24 so that when the pin is driven through the passageway it will wedgingly press both rope or wire-like elements outwardly so as to cause them to be gripped or pinched and therefore quite securely held in the apertures 20 and 22. As illustrated in Figure 6, if it should so happen that the valley portion 34 between the elemental strands 36 of one rope-like element should be disposed opposite the crest 38 of the companion rope-like element, the lockin pin 30 will be capable of drifting or shifting laterally a necessary distance because of the provision of the slightly oversize passageway 26.

The transverse locking pin, when initially wedgingly engaged with the wire elements, slightly compresses and distorts the contacted portions thereof, thus slightly offsetting the wire elements at the portions where the locking pin grips them. This oifsetting and wedging action permits the use of a fitting having apertures of a size to allow sufficient clearance to facilitate the quick and easy entry of wire elements of somewhat smaller diameter than of the apertures, yet once the holding pin is driven home the parts are adequately held in readiness for the cold forming operation effected by the grooved roll segments 58 and 66 referred to hereinafter.

As shown in Figure 9, the cross-sectional contour of the fitting I4 is such as to provide oppositely inclined portions and 42 meeting at a central ridge portion 44. At the outer extremities 45 and 48 of the inclined portions, the upper and lower faces of the fittings fiare upwardly and outwardly, as indicated at 50 and 52. The outermost upright faces 54 and 56 are substantially or approximately arcuate and concentric with the axes of the apertures 20 and 22 as shown. The coutour shown and described provides a desirable metal distribution to permit of a cold forming operation effective to cause the metal to flow so as to produce a finished fitting having the contour in end view shown in Figure 4.

The cold forming operation to bring about this transformation of the fitting and to thoroughly and permanently integrate the fitting with the juxtaposed rope-like or wire elements is accomplished by-subjecting the fitting, with the rope or cable-like element temporarily secured thereto by the locking pin 30, to the action of cold forming roll segments 58 and 60 keyed to shafts 62 and 64 driven in any suitable manner. The roll segments 58 and 60 are formed with grooves 66 and 68. As shown in Figure 11, the roll segments 58 and 60, when rotated in the direction of the arrows, serve to gradually transform the sectional contour of the fitting from that shown in Figure 10 to that illustrated in Figure 4 and 12, thus flowing the metal from the outer portions 54 and 56 into the space between the inclined portions 40, 42and '50, 52, and at the same time decreasing the sectional area between the portions 54 and 56 and the apertures 20 and 22, thus forcibly compressing the mass of metal of the fitting into the interstices between the adjacent strands of the rope-like elements or when plain wire is used for the elements In and 12 about the exterior of such elements. In this manner, it will be understood that the fitting is thus very securely and firmly integrated with said elements l0 and I2, therefore making a permanent bond. The integrity of the bond between the elements l0 and i2 and the fitting is increased somewhat by the presence of the locking pin 30, due to its action in slightly offsetting the elements as the assemblage is compressed.

While I have described with great particularity detailed steps and detailed structural features which an actual reduction to practice has demon strated to be highly desirable, is is to be understood that the description and drawings are to be interpreted in an illustrative rather than a limiting sense, since various modifications may be made by those skilled in the art without departure from the invention as defined in the appended claims.

I claim:

1. An article of manufacture comprising a metallic fitting having a pair of substantially parallel apertures extending longitudinally therethrough, each of said apertures being of substantially uniform cross-section throughout its length and adapted to receive a standard wire element, a median wall portion between said apertures, said median wall portion having an opening therethrough with its axis in a plane extending between said elements, said opening being of greater diameter'than the thickness of said wall portion, and a locking pin of larger diameter than the transverse thickness of said median wall portion extending through said openings and wedgingly contacting both elements, the diameter of said locking pin being materially smaller than the diameter 'of said opening.

2. An article of manufacture according to claim 1 in which the outer periphery of the fitting has a pair of raised arcuate portions thereon, one adjacent each aperture, the axis of each arcuate portion being concentric with the axis of the adjacent aperture.

3. An article of manufacture comprising a metallic fitting having a pair of substantially parallel apertures extending longitudinally therethrough, each of said apertures being of substantially uniform cross-section throughout its length, a median wall portion between said apertures, a wire element seated in each of said apertures and substantially surrounded by the Walls thereof, said median wall portion having an opening therethrough with its axis in a plane extending between said elements, said opening being of greater diameter than the thickness of 5 said wall portion, and a locking pin of larger REFERENCES CITED diameter than the transverse thickness of said The following references are of record in the median Wall portion extending through said file of this patent openings and wedgingly contacting both elements, the diameter of said locking pin being 5 UNI ED STATES- PATENTS materially smaller than the diameter of said Number Name Date opening, the metal of said fitting being com- 116 021 Cary June 20 1871 pressed abmtboth said elements- 321 753 Philligs 1:11:11 July 7' 1885 414,362 Anderson Nov. 5, 1889 ALAN BRICKMAN- 521,018 DeMott June 5, 1894 1,256,824 Olson Feb. 19, 1918 

